In the rapid advancement of the matrix type printer and the use of a ribbon cassette associated therewith, it is desirable to provide an inking ribbon and the drive therefor in design and in mechanism to enable high speed operation and to obtain longer ribbon life. While an inking ribbon may be of the pre-inked or self-inked type contained in a canister and appropriately designated a "throw-away" type, another type of ribbon may be contained in a canister which includes a re-inking feature for much longer ribbon life. Of more recent design, the matrix print head carries a ribbon cassette along therewith in its travel across the paper or like record media, the ribbon being utilized and driven during the printing cylce or in one direction of print head operation and not being driven during the non-printing cycle or other direction of print head travel.
Representative prior art of a printer ribbon feed is disclosed in Murphy U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,381, wherein a cassette contains supply and take-up means for the ribbon, the ribbon remaining stationary during a printing operation with left-to-right movement of the print head and the ribbon being driven during a non-printing operation when the print head moves in the opposite direction. Buschmann et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,459 shows a further such feed having a movable carriage assembly and ink ribbon control which includes wind-up and wind-off spools and a gear unit that is coupled with a stationary unit and which moves the ribbon spools by moving the carrier assembly.